For kind of a fresh take on this tune, this is Jake Workman, Ricky Skagg's current lead player. Pretty sure this is Red Haired Boy, he's kinda Django-ing it in that he's basically improvising around the chord changes. Some very cool licks here and a nice substitution (Am-Dm I think) in the first B section.
Hi Chris, another meta-question (sorry, I'm full of 'em right now). Big picture, do you approach improvisation from a chord position based perspective like this, or more geographical region based type thing? Jack Pearson is real big on chord position based improv (and he's a beast), but when I was real into jazz I found a lot of success with Jimmy Bruno's whole 5 Regions concept (picking one area of the fretboard and learning every key within it). For the record, I've gravitated towards a mixture of both. But I kinda suck at improv lately so that's why I'm on this site!
Hey Chris, always been curious about this-- regarding the the melody for "I'm too old to ride the rail..." The first version (and as a professor once pointed out to me, therefore the definitive one in my mind) I ever heard of this tune was Tony Rice's, and he sings that part differently, so that became the "correct" way in my head. Now hearing your version, and going back to Norman's original, I know you use Norman's original melody to it. Just curious about your thoughts on these kinds of differences in interpretation, especially when it comes to stuff like this where its more than just a lick or two or a chord substitution.
When I learned this song and knew that I would likely be performing it, it was important to me to check out both versions just to see if there were certain parts I liked better, or if hearing both versions might suggest something that I might do that was different from either one of them. I definitely knew Tony's version first, but there was something so straightforward about the way Norman sang that part that I found to be more appealing, especially without the benefit Ricky Skaggs singing harmony! So really, my version of the song is nothing more than an amalgamation based on my personal tastes.
OK Chris I just had to give it a go and ended up going at it in a bit of my own way. I stole your crosspicking licks in the 3rd break cuz they were just too cool. So this is a little bit of Norman, Tony, Eldridge, and Macklin ("one of these licks is not like the other"......) I hope you like it.
James I hope I live long enough to be able to play half that good - awesome. Very nice performance and your guitar sounds great. I have no idea if it's right wrong or otherwise - all I know is that is some great pickin'.
As one who was just listening to Tony Rice Plays and Sings Bluegrass, nice job throwin in the lick from his solo on this tune on your 2nd pass! Great way of negotiating that change.
Thanks so much Kip! It's kinda hard to tell from the vid but it's a Santa Cruz Tony Rice model. It's an absolutely killer guitar and I've been lusting after it for a while. Such an incredilbe sound and a dream to play. Words can't fully express how much I love it!
Hi Chris, I'll obviously be looking forward to properly working on the melody to this tune and all, but I just wanted you to meet my new friend! I recorded some rhythm and then played it back. I thought you might appreciate the axe! BTW the exclamation at the end is due to a) there not being any terrifying clunkers and b) i had taken about 5 or 6 passes at it and almost all of them had been interrupted by beeping alerts on my computer or phone calls!
Thanks so much Kip! It's kinda hard to tell from the vid but it's a Santa Cruz Tony Rice model. It's an absolutely killer guitar and I've been lusting after it for a while. Such an incredilbe sound and a dream to play. Words can't fully express how much I love it!
James, you sound great! And so does your new guitar! It really has that robust, powerful midrange that the best SCTRs have. Congrats - I think you got a really good one!
Hi Chris, your comments totally made sense. I had been watching/listening to a bit too much David Grier and took his fiddle bounce emphasis a bit too seriously. It really is a beautiful tune and should be played as such, as opposed to a Whiskey Before Breakfast/Angeline the Baker type way. I hope you like this one. I wish I had a better mic. I was trying to for smoothness and nuance. Is this more towards what you are talking about?
Nice job, James. Just listen to the final strum in both versions. In the first version (which is still really good) you're whacking the gutiar pretty hard and the tone is a little harsh because it's overdriving the guitar. At the end of this version, which just seems more relaxed, that strum is much gentler, but you still get plenty of volume because the guitar is resonating.
Hi Chris, here's both parts together. Looking at the right hand I can see, like Kip said in his video, there's still more wrist than really should be. I find that while I'm not necessarily resting on the bridge pins anymore I still hover and brush over them and volume still gets affected. Making headway on the right hand though, at least I think.
James, GREAT JOB! You've gotten it to a really solid place and it sounds really good. Aside from the right hand issue that you brought up I think you can play it with a little more delicacy and nuance. I'm being nitpicky here because you've already gotten it to a really nice place, but there's a bit of a bull in the china shop quality to the notes. They're all very strong but maybe sometimes it would be nice if they lightened up and became a little more seductive or sly. Let your dynamics change (let your intuition guide you in this department). I don't think you need to do anything drastic, but a few subtle changes of dynamics and color would add another dimension. Does that make sense?
Just found a nice version of this song played by Courtney Hartman (also one of my favorite guitar players). Nice and tasteful! She sneaks in a little walkup in the bass line during the A part. You have to skip past Dana Bourgois talking about his new line of guitars to hear it.
BTW Chris I am working on this tune (your version) and will post a vid soon. The A part came pretty quickly so I'm shedding the B part.
Hi Chris, I've been working hard on this and I'm still struggling a bit, but here's what I've got. There's a little bit of everything--forward roll, backward roll, and Carter-style. Just a forewarning--I play an Ab instead of a low C in the 3rd phrase. I'm at the tail end of my Spring Break and one of the things on my list has been to upload something since I haven't done it in so long.
James, great to see you on here! This rendition is great and very musical! I really appreciate how over the course of the tune it was slowly building dynamically until the last Carter-style version which was so open and big. Really nice. I also dug your embellishments.
The main thing I would work on here is execution, and I think you can already do it. Here's what I would suggest: try slowing it down a bit, maybe 10-20 bpms. You'll notice that I took it a bit slower on the intro for the backwards roll lesson. Go even slower than that. Then at the slower tempo, really commit to playing it with much musicality and nuance as you can. You don't have to find new nuances to put in, but really make sure that you are getting in everything that you were going for in terms of musicality and nuance in the video that you submitted above. Imagine that you are performing it for people. Once you can do it to your satisfaction that way, keep playing it like that at the slower tempo every day for a week. Then bring it back up to tempo slowly, always keeping the focus on the musicality and not the technique.
I decided to throw in Night of Silence before the main event. More my own thing, very simple with your ornamentations. Wanted to exploit how big a sound this guitar gets. Sorry about the Bm chord at the end.
Hi Chris, I just thought I'd give this a whirl. I went with your intro, and then for the solo I kinda took off on your first phrase and added some improvisation. The repeat got all Tony-Rice-ish. Why not. Aside from the couple of sloppy pull-offs and the unintended knocking of the A-string, any feedback or suggestions? How does the right hand sound/look to you? I've been working a lot on it lately, focusing on getting enough rotation and power tension-free.
For some reason I am only able to see your video on my iPhone (not my computer) so sorry for the slow response time! First of all, very nicely done! You've really internalized a lot of the subtleties of bluegrass guitar and can improvise with those subtleties but it's all in your own voice. That's a pretty rare thing so great job on that!
Getting into constructive criticism, the first thing that I'm noticing is that your pick direction gets turned around periodically and I think that might be contributing to some inconsistencies in groove and cleanliness. For instance, the last note of the phrase that ends at 0:08 (and 0:18) should be on a downstroke. Unless you're playing a rest stroke it's good to be able to feel the up/down bounce somewhere in your right hand mechanism, whether that's in your actual hand itself or in your forearm or your elbow. It's subtle, but keeping that pendulum going can really help stabalize consistency and groove.
Also (and you may not even be doing this), make sure that the heel of your right hand isn't resting on the saddle or the bridge pins. If you are touching the pins or the saddle some of the mechanical energy of the strings that would otherwise be transferred into the top gets absorbed by your body. This makes the already inefficiently designed acoustic guitar even less efficient!
Nice to see you on here and I look forward to seing more of what you've been up to!
For kind of a fresh take on this tune, this is Jake Workman, Ricky Skagg's current lead player. Pretty sure this is Red Haired Boy, he's kinda Django-ing it in that he's basically improvising around the chord changes. Some very cool licks here and a nice substitution (Am-Dm I think) in the first B section.
Hi Chris, another meta-question (sorry, I'm full of 'em right now). Big picture, do you approach improvisation from a chord position based perspective like this, or more geographical region based type thing? Jack Pearson is real big on chord position based improv (and he's a beast), but when I was real into jazz I found a lot of success with Jimmy Bruno's whole 5 Regions concept (picking one area of the fretboard and learning every key within it).
For the record, I've gravitated towards a mixture of both. But I kinda suck at improv lately so that's why I'm on this site!
Hey Chris, always been curious about this-- regarding the the melody for "I'm too old to ride the rail..." The first version (and as a professor once pointed out to me, therefore the definitive one in my mind) I ever heard of this tune was Tony Rice's, and he sings that part differently, so that became the "correct" way in my head. Now hearing your version, and going back to Norman's original, I know you use Norman's original melody to it.
Just curious about your thoughts on these kinds of differences in interpretation, especially when it comes to stuff like this where its more than just a lick or two or a chord substitution.
When I learned this song and knew that I would likely be performing it, it was important to me to check out both versions just to see if there were certain parts I liked better, or if hearing both versions might suggest something that I might do that was different from either one of them. I definitely knew Tony's version first, but there was something so straightforward about the way Norman sang that part that I found to be more appealing, especially without the benefit Ricky Skaggs singing harmony! So really, my version of the song is nothing more than an amalgamation based on my personal tastes.
Thank you so much Kip! That means a lot. You are a great picker. Play on my friend!
James I hope I live long enough to be able to play half that good - awesome. Very nice performance and your guitar sounds great. I have no idea if it's right wrong or otherwise - all I know is that is some great pickin'.
Thank you so much Kip! That means a lot. You are a great picker. Play on my friend!
James, you sound so great! Love it! I really love how you're putting your own spin on it and I love the edge that you're bringing. Keep it up!
p.s. shout out to the tag that TR plays in his video that you played at the end!
Nice job James thougholy enjoyable
Lol gaah that's right, you got me! :p It is a killer lick!
As one who was just listening to Tony Rice Plays and Sings Bluegrass, nice job throwin in the lick from his solo on this tune on your 2nd pass! Great way of negotiating that change.
Isn't that just the best lick? It's actually from his solo on I've Waited As Long As I Can, but it's bluegrass so you can kind of just copy/paste. ;-)
Lol gaah that's right, you got me! :p It is a killer lick!
Thanks so much Kip! It's kinda hard to tell from the vid but it's a Santa Cruz Tony Rice model. It's an absolutely killer guitar and I've been lusting after it for a while. Such an incredilbe sound and a dream to play. Words can't fully express how much I love it!
Gorgeous guitar. You're getting quite the collection of vintage Martins!
Great pickin' James but tell me about your new friend. What do you have there - looks and sounds sweet.
Thanks so much Kip! It's kinda hard to tell from the vid but it's a Santa Cruz Tony Rice model. It's an absolutely killer guitar and I've been lusting after it for a while. Such an incredilbe sound and a dream to play. Words can't fully express how much I love it!
Oh man - congratulations - it's a beauty and sounds great. Thanks for sharing.
James, you sound great! And so does your new guitar! It really has that robust, powerful midrange that the best SCTRs have. Congrats - I think you got a really good one!
Nice job, James. Just listen to the final strum in both versions. In the first version (which is still really good) you're whacking the gutiar pretty hard and the tone is a little harsh because it's overdriving the guitar. At the end of this version, which just seems more relaxed, that strum is much gentler, but you still get plenty of volume because the guitar is resonating.
YES!!! This sounds great! Bravo!
There's definitely a place for both approaches but part of the game is knowing where and when to deploy each one.
James, GREAT JOB! You've gotten it to a really solid place and it sounds really good. Aside from the right hand issue that you brought up I think you can play it with a little more delicacy and nuance. I'm being nitpicky here because you've already gotten it to a really nice place, but there's a bit of a bull in the china shop quality to the notes. They're all very strong but maybe sometimes it would be nice if they lightened up and became a little more seductive or sly. Let your dynamics change (let your intuition guide you in this department). I don't think you need to do anything drastic, but a few subtle changes of dynamics and color would add another dimension. Does that make sense?
Cheers,
Chris
Just found a nice version of this song played by Courtney Hartman (also one of my favorite guitar players). Nice and tasteful! She sneaks in a little walkup in the bass line during the A part. You have to skip past Dana Bourgois talking about his new line of guitars to hear it.
BTW Chris I am working on this tune (your version) and will post a vid soon. The A part came pretty quickly so I'm shedding the B part.
I love Courtney! She's such a great guitar player (and one of the coolest people there is). Thanks for sharing - I'd never heard her play this.
Hi Chris, I've been working hard on this and I'm still struggling a bit, but here's what I've got. There's a little bit of everything--forward roll, backward roll, and Carter-style. Just a forewarning--I play an Ab instead of a low C in the 3rd phrase. I'm at the tail end of my Spring Break and one of the things on my list has been to upload something since I haven't done it in so long.
James, great to see you on here! This rendition is great and very musical! I really appreciate how over the course of the tune it was slowly building dynamically until the last Carter-style version which was so open and big. Really nice. I also dug your embellishments.
The main thing I would work on here is execution, and I think you can already do it. Here's what I would suggest: try slowing it down a bit, maybe 10-20 bpms. You'll notice that I took it a bit slower on the intro for the backwards roll lesson. Go even slower than that. Then at the slower tempo, really commit to playing it with much musicality and nuance as you can. You don't have to find new nuances to put in, but really make sure that you are getting in everything that you were going for in terms of musicality and nuance in the video that you submitted above. Imagine that you are performing it for people. Once you can do it to your satisfaction that way, keep playing it like that at the slower tempo every day for a week. Then bring it back up to tempo slowly, always keeping the focus on the musicality and not the technique.
James, I love your creative and original take on this! Beautiful! Keep that up!
These licks are very boogie-woogie-piano-like. That first lick sounds like a left hand bass line.
I know, right? It's not what people usually think of when they think of Earl Scruggs, but to me it's quintessential stuff.
Hi Chris, I just thought I'd give this a whirl. I went with your intro, and then for the solo I kinda took off on your first phrase and added some improvisation. The repeat got all Tony-Rice-ish. Why not. Aside from the couple of sloppy pull-offs and the unintended knocking of the A-string, any feedback or suggestions? How does the right hand sound/look to you? I've been working a lot on it lately, focusing on getting enough rotation and power tension-free.
Hey James,
For some reason I am only able to see your video on my iPhone (not my computer) so sorry for the slow response time! First of all, very nicely done! You've really internalized a lot of the subtleties of bluegrass guitar and can improvise with those subtleties but it's all in your own voice. That's a pretty rare thing so great job on that!
Getting into constructive criticism, the first thing that I'm noticing is that your pick direction gets turned around periodically and I think that might be contributing to some inconsistencies in groove and cleanliness. For instance, the last note of the phrase that ends at 0:08 (and 0:18) should be on a downstroke. Unless you're playing a rest stroke it's good to be able to feel the up/down bounce somewhere in your right hand mechanism, whether that's in your actual hand itself or in your forearm or your elbow. It's subtle, but keeping that pendulum going can really help stabalize consistency and groove.
Also (and you may not even be doing this), make sure that the heel of your right hand isn't resting on the saddle or the bridge pins. If you are touching the pins or the saddle some of the mechanical energy of the strings that would otherwise be transferred into the top gets absorbed by your body. This makes the already inefficiently designed acoustic guitar even less efficient!
Nice to see you on here and I look forward to seing more of what you've been up to!
Chris